Free Comic Friday: The Dinosaur Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four: The Dinosaur Fantastic Four #1
“A Thing or Two”
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Iban Coello
Color Artist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC's Joe Caramagna
Cover: Alex Ross
Designer: Carlos Lao
Assistant Editor: Martin Biro
Associate Editor: Annalise Bissa
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Published by: Marvel
Released: Oct. 2, 2024

A cover featuring Doctor Doom riding a dinosaur is compelling. A cover featuring Doctor Doom riding a Doctor Doom tyrannosaurus rex, that's got to be an instant buy, right? Luckily for customers of comic shops participating in the 2024 Trick or Read event, the price was a very agreeable free.

It's a reprint of “Fantastic Four” Vol. 7 #13, which I'd already read because I've been collecting Ryan North's run on the series since #1.* I did get one to give to a friend who appreciates both Doom and dinosaurs** – then borrowed it back for this post in case the issue was different from the original.

I think the only difference beyond the Trick or Read trade dress and numbering is the addition of an FF origin recap by North and Alan Davis. That's a little surprising since this is the second of a two-part story, but the writing and the standard-these-days recap page do a good job of bringing newcomers up to speed.

It starts where you would hope, with Doom walking through a portal and meeting his dino-doppelganger. The recap explains the FF investigated a mysterious energy source near the home of a childhood friend of the Thing and wound up in an alternate reality where dinosaurs are the dominant species. After a standard first-encounter fight with Dino-vengers, they realized the crossover threatened both universes and figured out a way to send the mammalian heroes back home. But the arrival of Doom-Rex disrupted the process, and only the Thing made it through the portal.

That's where this issue picks up, as Ben Grimm lands in the middle of a fight between the Earth 616 Avengers and the Fantastic Dino-Four.

Thing manages to settle the situation down by uttering the only word he learned in his brief time on the other world, a curse. Once the dino-heroes realize he's encountered their home, cooler heads prevail and Iron Man and the saurian Mister Fantastic build a translation device.

Human Doctor Doom arrives on the scene, unleashing a devastating weapon on the heroes that he made by switching quarks between the two universes, or something. I trust North on the science, fiction or otherwise. Doom explains that he and his dino-counterpart plan to merge the universes and rule them. Two out of two Misters Fantastic agree that isn't possible, but Doom's never been one to put much stock in Reed Richards' calculations.

Acknowledging he could destroy them with his quark weapon, the heroes let Doom return to an interdimensional space. The two Things tag along, claiming they want to witness the Dooms' accomplishment. When the dual Grimms start asking which Doom will be in charge, the not-officially Doctors*** scoff at the transparent attempt to divide them.

But a Doom is a Doom, and eventually, with further prompting from the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Things, they realize they need to betray their partner before their partner betrays them. The Things open portals and each FF returns to their respective universe, as the Dooms battle to what is apparently their doom.

You and I both know that isn't the end for either of them. Doom made a move a few months later to take over the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. The T-rex is helping him in the “One World Under Doom” series, so they must have settled their differences. Or maybe it's mind control.

I've gushed about my appreciation of North's writing before, and this issue is just one of the reasons why. As much as I enjoy alternate versions of characters, I've felt recently that the multiverse stuff has been a little overdone. But introducing dinosaur versions of Marvel heroes and playing their similar personalities off one another in a brisk, funny and exciting two-part story is a winner.

If there are any downsides here, they're very minor. Readers of this issue don't get to see the dinosaur Avengers and do miss out on some of the setup. Then again, expecting two issues this good in one free package feels greedy.

The other issue is Coello's decision to draw the Thing without a neck. His art is terrific, giving a feel both contemporary and classic. His consistent rendering of Ben Grimm with broad shoulders, a round head and nothing in between is not due to a lack of ability but apparently an artistic choice. It doesn't undermine the quality of the story at all, but it is mildly distracting.

This year's Trick or Read selections include another terrific tale of the FF penned by North, the “Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four” one-shot from earlier this year. Apparently it's the full issue, and I'm not even jealous because it was worth the $4.99 cover price and I wouldn't begrudge anybody getting one of my favorite issues of the year for that price or less.

* - And continuing through the second #1. If there's a third, I'll grumble, but I'll buy it too.

** - Are there people who don't?

*** - I guess that's not fair. Maybe the dinosaur one completed his coursework.